Namoura Recipes

NAMOURA (SYRUP-SOAKED SEMOLINA CAKE)

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over high heat, boil sugar and 1 cup/240 milliliters of water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add lemon juice and extract, and stir to combine. Simmer until thickened into a syrup, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Place the semolina, melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until well combined; set aside.
• Place the yogurt and baking soda in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until the mixture has nearly doubled in size, about 10 minutes.
• Pour the yogurt mixture over the semolina mixture and mix well to combine. Transfer to the buttered baking dish and press into an even layer. Using a knife, score the surface of the namoura on the diagonal into 2-inch diamond-shaped pieces. Top each diamond in the center with an almond. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Place baking dish on a wire rack and drizzle the cooled syrup over the top of the hot namoura. Let cool to room temperature before recutting along the scored lines and serving.

NAMOURA (BASBOUSA)

Steps:

• In a saucepan, add water, sugar and rose water, stir through and bring to the boil for about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool down to room temp.
• In a large mixing bowl add semolina and plant based butter, combine well using hands until a dough forms. Cover with cling wrap and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Once dough has rested, crumble dough using your fingers and add sugar, rose water, bicarb soda, baking powder, salt, coconut yoghurt and combine using your fingers.
• Coat baking tray with tahini and flatten dough as evenly as possible.
• Use a knife to push the edges down and off the tray and then cut into squares or diamond pieces and place one almond in the middle of each piece
• Bake in a preheated oven of 180C (356F), place in the middle of the oven for the first 15 minutes and then move it to the top for the last 15 minutes. Baking time is approximately 30min or until lightly golden
• Evenly pour a generous amount of sugar syrup over baked namoura.
• Allow to cool down to room temp before taking the pieces out

NAMOURA (EGYPTIAN HONEY CAKE)

Steps:

• 1. Gather Ingredients.
• 2. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
• 3. Put the butter in the microwave-safe bowl, and heat 15 seconds at a time until mostly melted.
• 4. Mix farina, sugar and butter in a bowl.
• 5. Mix the baking soda and baking powder, then stir into the yogurt in another bowl. When mixed, add it to the farina mixture and blend together.
• 6. Grease the baking pan with a little shortening and pour the batter inches (As an option, you can drizzle the top with 2 tablespoons of yogurt.).
• 7. Using a knife, score the top of the batter into medium-sized rectangles -- or to be a bit fancier, try diamond shapes! (You'll probably make 12-16 pieces.) Place a blanched almond in the middle of each piece.
• 8. Using your oven mitts, put the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it's brown on top.
• 9. When the cake is done, it out of the oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes while you clean up the kitchen.
• 10. Drizzle honey over the top. Cut along the lines you scored.

NAMOORA (BASBOOSA)

Steps:

• Line a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil and generously butter the foil. Spread the tahini evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan in a thin layer.
• Mix together farina cereal with 1 1/2 cup of sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Mix in the yogurt and 1 tablespoon of softened butter gently with your hands until the dough is smooth. Spread dough out into the prepared baking dish. Pat the surface smooth. Cover the dish with foil, and allow to stand at room temperature for 2 hours. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 squares; push an almond half gently into the top of each square.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until the dessert is set and the top is lightly golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• While the dessert is baking, make the syrup. Place 2 cups of sugar into a saucepan with the water, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Stir in the lemon juice, and boil the syrup for 5 minutes; stir in butter and orange flower water until combined. Pour the hot syrup over the dessert as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool for 1 to 2 hours to let the syrup absorb before serving.

BASBOUSA SEMOLINA CAKE

Steps:

• Mix the semolina, sugar, and baking powder.
• In another bowl, melt the ghee in the microwave and mix in the honey until fully incorporated.
• Pour the ghee into the bowl with the semolina mixture and mix until all the semolina is incorporated.
• Add in the yogurt and mix until you have a squishy dough.
• Grease a 12-inch round baking pan (or a similar size rectangular pan) with tahini and lightly press the dough into it until smooth and even.
• Let rest uncovered for at least an hour.
• While the dough rests, start on your simple syrup by dissolving the sugar and water in a saucepan on the stove.
• Bring to a boil and add the lemon juice, stirring until it thickens. Add in the orange blossom water then set aside for when the basbousa is ready.
• Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (180 ℃). Cut diagonal lines into the basbousa so you have diamond shapes, and garnish with nuts of choice. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the top is golden.
• Pour sugar syrup on top as soon as it's out of the oven, and wait for all the syrup to be absorbed before serving.

NAMOURA - LEBANESE SEMOLINA CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the Namoura: -In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients leaving out the almonds for garnish. The mix should be slightly thick and sticky. -Spread the tahini on the bottom and sides of a 14-15 inch round pan to prevent sticking. (feel free to use a square or rectangular pan, don't go too small though, Namoura shouldn't rise very high, not more than 1 inch thick) -Pour the Namoura mix in the pan and smooth the top. (You can do that by dipping your fingers in some melted butter and smoothing out the top) -Leave the cake to rest for 5-6 hours. (It's OK to decrease the time if you're in a hurry) -Before you bake the cake, with a watered knife, cut the namoura with evenly spaced lines to create square or diamond shaped pieces. (you don't have to cut it through to the bottom) -Decorate each square with a blanched almond or any other nuts of your choice (traditionally we use almonds or sometimes pine nuts) -Bake the Namoura in a 400 degrees preheated oven until it's golden.
• 2. Prepare the Sugar Syrup: -Boil together sugar and water. -Add lemon juice, when the syrup starts thickening. -Add rose water and orange blossom water just before you turn off the heat or right after. -Cool the sugar syrup completely.
• 3. To finish the Namoura: -Take off the Namoura from the oven, while it's very hot, pour the cooled sugar syrup all over. Preferably not all the syrup at once, let the cake absorb it then repeat. -Cool the Namoura, then cut it (on the already existing lines) and enjoy!

NAMOURA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F. Put the butter in the microwave-safe bowl, and heat 15 seconds at a time until mostly melted. Mix farina, sugar and butter in a bowl. Mix the baking soda and baking powder, then stir into the yogurt in another bowl. When mixed, add it to the farina mixture and blend together. Grease the baking pan with a little shortening (or, to make it more authentic, 2 tablespoons tahini, which is sesame paste) and pour the batter in. (As an option, you can drizzle the top with 2 tablespoons of yogurt.) Using a knife, score the top of the batter into medium-sized rectangles -- or to be a bit fancier, try diamond shapes! (You'll probably make 12-16 pieces.) Place a blanched almond in the middle of each piece. Using your oven mitts, put the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until it's brown on top. When the cake is done, take it out of the oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes while you clean up the kitchen.